


you with me

by datahearts



Category: Dead Poets Society (1989)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Faking It (MTV) AU, Friends to Lovers, Not Canon Compliant, Secret Relationship, Temporarily Unrequited Love, i apologize for any formatting errors this isn't beta'd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29368311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/datahearts/pseuds/datahearts
Summary: after being mistaken for lesbians, chris and ginny pretend to be dating in order to gain popularity.based on season one of mtv's faking it.
Relationships: Chris Noel/Knox Overstreet, Ginny Danbury & Charlie Dalton, Ginny Danbury & Chris Noel, Ginny Danbury/Chris Noel
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

ginny wakes up to her phone buzzing on the nightstand.

"good morning best friend!"

chris is _way_ too energetic for a 7AM phone call.

"morning, chris," ginny mutters, "why are you so enthused?"

"i've figured out what's going to bring us popularity!"

"not this again-"

"it's a really good idea, gin! just trust me on this, okay?"

"fine. but if you're making me sign up for cheerleading again I'm not leaving the house."

"you'll be spared from the squad for the day, i promise. just make sure you wear that cute green jacket of yours."

“ _fine_.”

ginny knew as soon as she saw chris wearing a cast on her foot that this idea wasn’t going to work out.

“really? broken ankles are the ticket to popularity now?”

“crippled people _always_ get attention.”

“chris-“

“listen, gin. you know how much i want to be invited to charlie’s party, and i’ve gotta get his attention _somehow_.”

“why do you even want to go to this party? i thought dealing with people during the day was bad enough; what makes you think they’d be better drunk at night?”

“because if people know we were invited to a party they’ll think we’re cool enough to be popular. doesn’t that make it worth it?”

before ginny could respond, her brother walked up to them.

“you two still trying to be famous?”

“it’s none of your business, chet.”

“y’know gin, it’s rude to keep things from your brother.”

“i have nothing to keep from you.”

“oh, please. you two are such closet cases.”

“we’re not-“

“yea, keep saying that, maybe it’ll come true.”

“don’t you have some footballs to catch?”

“it’s not football season yet.”

ginny opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by none other than charlie dalton and knox overstreet standing next to them. chris was immediately staring at knox, who was returning the action and smiling.

“leave them alone, chet.”

“oh, here comes charlie, saving the day.”

“why don’t you bother someone else, yea?”

chet walks away annoyed with charlie, leaving the four of them alone.

"sorry your brother is such a dick, ginny."

"oh, i'm used to it."

“hey, you should come to my party tonight!”

“really?” chris looked starstruck (more than she’d been when she laid eyes on knox).

“yea! i’ve been craving this energy you guys have, i think it’d really fit for the party, y’know?”

“uh, yea! yea, it would. ginny and i will be there!”

they silently ignored the fake cast on chris's foot as they headed to class.

charlie smiled as he turned to knox.

"you know how i've always wanted lesbian friends? they're perfect."

* * *

the party was just as expected: chris and ginny were surrounded by people who didn't pay much attention to them.

“i didn’t realize it’d be so intimidating!” chris groaned, “everyone is a lot more... wild here.”

"i told you this would be a drag, chris," ginny muttered, ignoring everyone's intrigued stares. “can we go?”

chris looked around and noticed knox standing nearby.

"we just need to relax! alcohol will help.”

“i’m not getting _drunk_ around these people!”

“i’ll be right back!”

chris stepped away to the kitchen to find the alcohol while ginny snuck away to sit outside. moments later, she was being approached by charlie dalton.

"hey, you made it!” charlie was beaming.

"oh, yea. it’s a _great_ party, charlie.”

“thanks.”

“my friend’s getting us some drinks, she’ll be right back.”

“your _friend_ , right,” he winked, “just tell me who made the first move.”

“excuse me?”

“i won’t blab, gay scout’s honor. i just really want us to be friends- i’ve been craving lesbian energy in my life.”

“look, i’m oddly flattered, but i’m not gay.”

charlie sighed and sat next to ginny.

“i’m just gonna flip on this closet light for a sec so we can talk, okay? you’re gay. and it’s okay, there’s no shame.”

“i promise... not ashamed of anything.”

“i was you once, so terrified of rejection. it took me forever to come out, but once i did, fourth grade got so much better. trust me.”

ginny gave him a fake smile.

“thanks again for the party. i need to not be here anymore.”

she quickly walked back inside, leaving charlie staring questioningly.

meanwhile, chris had run into knox coming back with the drinks, spilling them everywhere.

“i feel like such an ass,” knox said, handing chris a new cup of beer.

“no, no, it’s fine! i should’ve been paying attention to where i was going.”

a girl who chris recognized as one of the cheerleaders came over and sat on knox’s lap, drink in hand.

“where have you been, honey?” she was very obviously drunk, smiling and giggling like an idiot. she looked at chris and rolled her eyes, “who’s this?”

“you’re drunk, kate. and i’m not your boyfriend- we just... we’re friend who occasionally hook up. if that confuses you, we have to stop.”

“ _fine_.”

kate stumbled away but the tension seemed to stay.

“what?” knox looked offended.

“nothing,” chris replied.

“i’m not an ass, okay? i’m always clear about my ground rules. and girls always agree to them, and then they get...”

“clingy?” he nodded. “women are genetically wired to mate and start a family. in fact, if we weren’t, our entire species would’ve died out, so have some respect.”

“it’s handy having a lesbian around here to explain these things to me.”

“uh, what?”

ginny walked over to the two, seemingly in a hurry.

“chris, we’re leaving.”

she reached for chris’s hand and pulled her away from knox, who smiled to himself and took a sip of his beer.

“knox thinks i’m a lesbian!” chris cried.

“who cares?” ginny groaned, “let’s just go home, put on pajamas, and watch _house hunters_.”

before they even reached the door charlie was calling for everyone’s attention.

“two friends of ours are scared tonight,” he began, “they’re hiding in this closet, afraid of rejection, afraid to come out. but we do things differently here! we accept everyone! now how do we prove to them that we aren’t your typical high school? that they’re safe to come out? there’s only one thing we can do-“ he walked over to chris and ginny, “-let’s elect them homecoming queens!”

everyone started cheering for them, _chanting all hail the queens!_ repeatedly.

“i told you we shouldn’t have come!” ginny yelled over the crowd.

* * *

the next morning, chris and ginny sat waiting for the bus.

“we’ll just go in and tell them we’re not gay,” ginny was pacing back and forth, “thank god the voting age is eighteen, teenagers are _idiots_.”

“i don’t know,” chris shrugged, “maybe we should see how this plays out.”

“you’re kidding, right? they think we’re lesbians, it’s ridiculous!”

“ginny, we were invited to the hottest party of the year, we’ve been nominated for homecoming queens. you have to admit this is working for us.”

“small problem, chris. we’re _not_ gay.”

“everyone has a lesbian phase in college, we’re just... moving ours up!”

“what about knox? he thinks we’re a couple.”

“oh, come on. straight guys love lesbians. and last night, i swear he flirted with me.”

“okay, when we get to school you’re going to the nurse’s office, i think you have head trauma.”

“why is it so hard to believe that knox would flirt with me?”

“because knox overstreet could have any girl in school.”

chris frowned. “why would he want _me_? thanks.”

the bus finally pulled up and chris took the opportunity to get away from ginny, who only followed her and sat next to her. the entire ride was spent with ginny trying to apologize but it was like talking to a brick wall. they reached the school and stormed off, ginny trailing behind.

“chris, for the millionth time, i’m sorry, i shouldn’t have said that. i just don’t want you to get hurt, okay?”

“do i let you embarrass yourself, gin?”

“all the time.”

“y’know, maybe i _want_ to get hurt. maybe i want to feel something other than boredom!”

“well, i’m sorry if spending time with me is _so_ boring.”

“don’t do that. do _not_ make this about you!”

“right, because god forbid it’s not about you for one second!”

one of their classmates came up to them and interrupted, ignoring the tension between them.

“would you guys be willing to do a photo shoot for the school paper?”

“what? why?” ginny asked.

“you two are the talk of the whole school right now.”

“look, jen, we’re not-“

chris looked around at everyone, realizing the situation.

“-going to deny our public,” chris interrupted, “are we, sugar bear?”

“chris-”

“she _hates_ when i call her that. we’ll do the photo shoot!”

chris smiled and gave ginny a kiss on the cheek as she slipped away, pretending to go to class.

ginny escaped the crowd and chased after chris.

“what the hell are you doing?”

“seizing an opportunity, gin. last week a total of three people knew our names, and one of them was the lunch lady. today, everyone loves us! you have to admit it feels nice.”

“okay, yea, it does feel nice. but you know i’m a terrible liar!”

“don’t think of it as lying. think of it as... a gift to your oldest and dearest friend.”

ginny smiled and nodded.

“okay. we’ll fake date.”

“great! now, i need to go fix my makeup, i’ll see you in class.”

* * *

chris had just finished with her makeup and was going to class when she walked by knox, who was working on an art piece- a painting of a horse behind barbed wire.

“that’s really interesting, knox. what does it mean?”

“it’s art. means whatever you think it means.”

“well, i think the horse represents you, and the barbed wire represents how you’ve been hurt. like, you’ve built walls up to keep people out so you won’t get hurt again.”

“interesting.”

“your art says a lot, knox. it’s really good.”

she smiled at him.

he locked eyes with her and reached his hand up to cup her face, brushing an eyelash away. before she knew it, he was leaning in and kissing her.

around the corner, ginny was walking with jen, getting ready for their photo shoot.

“where’s chris?” jen asked.

“chris would be late to her own funeral,” she laughed, “drives me bonkers, but i love her.”

they came to a halt as they came across knox and chris. ginny was speechless, but she couldn’t understand why it was bothering her so much. they were only _fake_ dating, she shouldn’t be jealous, right?

* * *

chris and ginny met up again after gym class, walking around outside.

“his lips are the perfect blend of soft and firm,” chris began, “they’re like two tempur-pedics on his face. and his eyes... it’s like they’re peering into my soul.”

“you said the same thing about james lafferty.”

“well this is different! knox’s parents are rich, but he drives a beat-up biodiesel which means he’s socially aware. he’s best friends with a gay guy and a feminist which means he’s tolerant _and_ he’s accepting of strong women.” she sighed happily. “and he’s an artist, which means that deep down inside he’s wounded.”

“if only he were a vampire, he’d be perfect,” ginny mumbled, “gym class was torture enough, so can you please just... shut up?”

“...okay, i don’t know what crawled up your ass today, but i hope you get over it before our speech for the homecoming assembly.”

“yea, i’m not going to that.”

“what are you talking about, gin?”

“i’m done pretending i’m a lesbian, chris, and i’m not doing it anymore.”

“but being gay is the best thing that’s ever happened to us!”

“no! it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to _you_! you got your popularity and your photo shoot and your kiss with knox. i never wanted any of this!”

“then _why_ did you go along with it?”

“because you’re my best friend and i wanted you to be happy.”

“well it worked, i’m happy!”

“well, i’m not!”

ginny frowned as they stopped walking.

“can’t we just forget these past few days ever happened and just go back to the way things were? just the two of us?”

chris looked to the ground and sighed, looking back up at ginny and locking eyes with her.

“what if i don’t want to go back?”

“then good luck finding a new girlfriend.”

ginny stormed off, leaving chris alone.

neither one knew that chet was hiding around the corner and overheard their entire conversation.

* * *

chris sat alone at lunch until knox came up to her.

“can i sit here?”

“yea, sure.”

he set his things down and sat next to her, noticing ginny wasn’t with her.

“so, where’s your girlfriend?”

“oh, we broke up.”

“sorry to hear that. i, uh, i hope it’s not my fault. you know, us kissing and all.”

“no.”

“...do you wanna talk about it?”

“not really, knox.”

“okay. so there’s this art exhibition coming up-”

“we’re just- different people, we always have been. and honestly, i think we’ve been holding onto this relationship too long.”

“that sucks.”

“don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all bad. she loved watching stupid reality shows with me and making fun of people for being idiots, and she always threw the best birthday parties, and when my grandmother passed away... she was the only one that could cheer me up.”

chris stood up and grabbed her things.

“i’m sorry, i have to go.”

she quickly made her way to the rooftop, somewhere students were allowed but only rarely. chris knew that ginny would hide herself there because she knew chris was afraid of heights.

“hey gin,” she spoke softly as she stepped on the roof.

“how’d you find me?” ginny asked, voice shaky.

“i knew you’d go here because you know i’m terrified of heights. but hey, i’m here, and i want to apologize for everything.”

she sat across from ginny, who was fiddling with her sleeves.

“you were right, gin. i forced you to go along with this fake dating thing and i didn’t even ask if it was what you wanted. i was really selfish and i put my needs before you. and- and you know i care what everyone thinks about me. and you have to stand out to fit in at this school, and i’m so fucking ordinary.”

“you are _not_.”

“oh please, being gay finally made me interesting. but... if the price of being popular is losing you it’s not worth it.”

“chris... if you need to stand out, i’m going to help you.”

“are you saying what i think you’re saying?”

“let’s be lesbians.”

chris squealed and hugged ginny as she smiled. they grabbed each other’s hands and started to head to the assembly.

when they entered the gymnasium, everyone started clapping and cheering. the principal introduced them and led them on the makeshift stage, but chet stood up and stopped them from speaking.

“everybody listen up!” he shouted, “chris and ginny aren’t _really_ lesbians! they’re only faking it so you’ll all like them!”

the principal turned to them with a questioning look in her eyes.

“is this true?” she asked.

everyone fell silent.

“we can explain...” chris started, but was interrupted.

“if we’re faking it,” ginny spoke, “would i do this?”

she grabbed chris and kissed her, as everyone started cheering once more. they pulled away with smiles on their faces.

“woah,” chris was beaming.

“i know,” ginny whispered.

“way to sell it!” she winked and turned her attention to the crowd.

ginny couldn’t look away from chris. she was struck with confusion and excitement but it was overtaken by a sense of guilt. ginny felt as if that kiss were the best thing that ever happened while chris was just happy they made everyone believe it was real.

maybe ginny really _was_ a lesbian.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> !! warning for the smallest bit of sexual content and homophobia

chris is smiling into the kiss she’s giving knox, who’s lying on top of her.

he pulls away for a brief moment, “what about your girlfriend?”

“she’s not my girlfriend,” she laughs, pulling him back.

her alarm wakes her up. she turns it off, sighs, and turns over to find ginny in her bed.

“what?” ginny mumbles, “is there something on my face?”

chris shakes her head and leans in to kiss her.

“i can stop if you want.”

ginny hums a no and kisses her again.

this time, ginny’s alarm goes off. she groans and grabs the alarm clock, throwing it across the room.

“what the fuck are you doing?” chet yells.

“what the fuck are _you_ doing in my room?”

“your room is bigger than mine, and i want it.”

“well it’s not up for sale.”

“i think it is.”

“why’s that?”

“because you got everyone’s attention at school for fake-gaying with chris, and you _know_ how mom and dad would feel if they knew.”

“chet...”

he smiled and left the room, leaving ginny to get ready for school.

breakfast was, in simple terms, a nightmare.

ginny’s dad insisted on saying grace (who says grace for breakfast?) while her mother criticized her appearance.

“virginia, why do you wear your hair that way? it would look so much prettier if you actually did something with it.”

“my hair is perfectly fine, thank you.”

"i think she looks fine, dear," her dad spoke up, "it takes a strong woman to look that way."

"what's that supposed to mean, dad?"

"uh, nothing, i don't know. nevermind." he turned to chet and smiled, "so you seemed upset yesterday, what was that all about?"

"oh, that," chet had an evil grin, "we had the homecoming assembly yesterday. everyone was ecstatic that they nominated lesbians for homecoming queens."

"i raised you better than to call someone a lesbian that way, chet."

"no, i'm serious, dad. they were girls."

"oh gosh. first there's marriage and now homecoming? where do we draw the line?"

ginny sighed and looked over to chet, pleading with him to keep quiet. she gave him a look that said _fine, we'll switch rooms_ and silently resigned to finishing her food.

* * *

ginny made her way over to see chris, who was cheery as ever while getting ready.

"chet threatened to tell our parents about the whole lesbian thing," ginny mumbled, "we have to break up, chris."

"we just came out yesterday! it'll give people whiplash, gin."

"okay, well how long do you plan on doing this?"

"only until our celebrity status is cemented!"

"chris, we're the school's first lesbian couple, we're already legends."

"yes, but if we don't play this right it could end in flames."

"i can't pull this off much longer. i'm so clearly _not_ a lesbian, and if everyone finds out we're faking it, they might overcome their opposition to the death penalty."

"which is why i created this handy dossier!"

chris grabbed a binder full of papers and handed it to ginny.

"how is this handy?" she flipped through some pages before putting it to the side. "you don't feel weird about this, pretending to be girlfriends?"

chris laughed. "jeez, was i that bad a kisser?"

"it was like... kissing chet."

"oh, _thanks."_

ginny frowned. "it's not like you enjoyed it."

"i thought you were great."

"you did?"

chris nodded and smiled just as her parents came in.

"knock knock," her mom said, "you two women decent?"

"mom, dad-"

"we won't stay long, we just wanted to bring you some celebratory kombucha."

she handed the cups to chris and ginny, who accepted them awkwardly.

"i didn't realize you told your parents, chris."

"how did your mother take the news? she can be a little... what's the word-"

"unevolved," chris's dad spoke up.

"yes, unevolved."

"i actually haven't told her yet.

"well if she kicks you out, you can always stay here, ginny. this is a safe space."

ginny smiled and nodded as a silent thank you.

"alright, we'll let you get back to loving each other. chris, ginny, have a good day at school!"

"thanks," chris mumbled as her parents slowly walked out of the room.

"seriously?" ginny asked, "you told them?"

"i know, i know, i shouldn't have told them. i just knew they'd be really happy for us, okay?"

"chris, i can't do this, seriously."

"don't worry, gin, i'll be right by your side the entire time."

ginny felt convinced enough to go along with the plan a little while longer.

* * *

outside of the school, charlie was handling homecoming tickets when chet stepped up.

"tickets, please!" he exclaimed.

"name of your date?" charlie asked.

chet rolled his eyes, "i'm bringing bonnie, my girlfriend."

"how predictable," he smirked, "fifty bucks."

"you just gave that guy free tickets, and he smells like a field of armpits."

"well, chet, in support of ginny and chris, our homecoming theme is _homecoming out_. bring a same-sex date, you get in free. everyone else pays fifty bucks."

"that's not fair, charlie. that's like- it's like a heterosexual tax!"

"sucks, doesn't it?" charlie picked up a pamphlet and handed it to chet. "the proceeds are going to the trevor project, if you care about that at all."

chet smiled as he grabbed the pamphlet and ripped it in half, storming off.

knox came up to charlie and laughed.

"it's fun torturing chet danbury, isn't it?" he asked.

"it's just easy, knoxious. he falls into it every time."

charlie stepped away from the table and walked over to the corner with knox.

"you're going to homecoming with me, right?"

"you aren't taking one of your college boyfriends?"

"they think _i'm_ in college too, knox. no can do. i thought i was gonna save you fifty bucks, but if you feel weird about it-"

"no, i don't feel weird about it at all."

just then, ginny and chris walked onto campus, everyone around them cheering. knox made brief eye contact with chris and walked away, leaving charlie on his own.

chris followed him to the art room.

"hey, stranger," she spoke softly.

he perked up and smiled.

"all hail the queen! i am your humble servant," he joked.

"shut up."

"glad you got back together with your girlfriend, but that probably means we shouldn't make out again. you know, i'd hate to be the ass that breaks up the school's cutest couple."

"the thing is... ginny and i have an open relationship."

"you do?"

"yep!"

"so... what happens in the art room, stays in the art room?"

she nodded, knox bringing himself closer to her.

"being a lesbian must have its perks. or- are you more bi?"

"not sure. i-i thought i was totally a lesbian before you came along."

"that is _so_ hot."

he leaned in and kissed her briefly.

"i'm not looking for a relationship, knox. my... heart belongs to gin."

"fair deal."

they continued kissing until the bell rang.

* * *

later on, ginny was packing her things up to switch rooms with chet.

"watch out, meryl streep," he mocked, "you're really going method with this lesbian thing."

"what do you want now, a kidney?" ginny joked.

"fifty dollars. just consider it interest since you're taking forever to pack up all of this junk."

"i hope you use it to buy a conscience."

"says the girl that's faking being a lesbian so she can be popular."

he smirked and stepped out of the room moments before chris came in.

"guess who's having a secret affair with knox overstreet? it's me!" she exclaimed.

"are you kidding?" ginny's smile fell.

"crazy, right? he's _so_ into this lesbian thing, i think if i play my cards right, we could have sex. me and knox overstreet!"

"i thought the only reason we were doing this was to be popular."

"it is! and popular people have sex with other popular people. people... like knox overstreet. why didn't we think of this years ago, gin?"

chris sat down next to ginny in a happy daze.

"it was a more innocent time," ginny joked.

"well, now everyone's lost their innocence but us. but that can soon change, thanks to you. best girlfriend ever!"

ginny rolled her eyes.

"i thought you always said you wanted your first time to be special."

"it doesn't get more special than the hottest guy at school, gin."

"well, let's hope no one finds out you're cheating on me, they'd think you were a horrible person."

"you're upset."

"what? no, i'm just- annoyed i have to move."

ginny's mom knocked on the door before entering with the laundry.

"what are you two doing?" she asked.

"oh, we're just uh, we're talking about our homecoming date. _dates_ , two of them, with boys."

"how exciting! you better tell this boy to come over early for pictures. and don't argue with me on this, it's a mother's right to meet her daughter’s homecoming date. speaking of mothers, i have to go tell your grandmother. she'll be so excited you have a date with a boy!"

with that, ginny's mom stepped out of the room with a huge smile on her face.

"shoot me now, chris."

* * *

charlie was sitting in the cafeteria when ginny approached him.

"hey!" he exclaimed, "everything coming along for the big gay-la? have you picked out your pantsuit yet?"

she pulled up a chair and sat across from him.

"i need a favor," she said.

"anything for my queen."

"you have to come over and pretend to be my date."

"okay, _slight_ revision. when i said anything, i meant anything _but_ that."

"you just have to meet my mom and pose for a couple of pictures. i _promise_ my house has great lighting."

"when i came out, i swore- god as my witness- that i would never pretend to be someone else again."

"well, charlie, it's kind of your fault i'm in this mess, remember? so the least you can do is keep my former-beauty-queen-republican mother from finding out."

"fine. mostly because i feel bad but also because she sounds like _amazing_ company!" he laughed. "what time?"

"seven. and butch it up a bit, if that's even possible. it needs to be believable."

* * *

when ginny opened the front door, charlie was wearing a cowboy outfit.

"charlie..." she groaned.

"listen, gin, this is as butch as i get," he replied, "now where's this mother you promised?"

just as he asked, ginny's mom came downstairs.

"is this him? she asked, taking note of his outfit, "well, hello, i'm ginny's mom. you must be charlie."

"no way! you are _lying_ to me!"

"excuse me?"

"you two must be sisters!"

"oh, stop it, you are _too cute_ , charlie." she pulled her phone out to take pictures. "now where is that camera at-"

"mom, we have to go-"

"nonsense, you aren't leaving until i get at least one picture of you."

"fine."

"oh, this is such a perfect night. my daughter finally wears a dress and i land my first reporting assignment!"

"you did? that's great, i can't wait to watch it!"

"well, you won't have to! i pitched those lesbian queens to my boss, and guess who he picked to cover it? me!"

ginny's fake smile dropped as she pulled away from charlie, letting the two of them converse while she went to call chris.

"guess what?" chris said excitedly, "the local news is coming to interview us!"

"guess what? the local news is my mother."

"oh my god, what are we gonna do?"

"i'll stop her, you stall."

"i'm on it, just- hurry, gin."

the principal made her way up to chris as the call ended, holding a tiara and a crown.

"chris, i didn't get the chance to order another tiara, so i hope one of you is willing to wear the crown. i figure it'd be ginny, but i don't want to make assumptions."

"oh yea, the crown is _definitely_ ginny's thing."

"let me know when she gets here!"

chris smiled and nodded as the principal left. her phone buzzed with a text message from knox.

**knox:** _nice tiara_

she looked around the area to find knox, who was staring at her by the food table.

**chris:** _nice vest_

**knox:** _my car. five minutes._

he walked away with a smirk as chris realized what was about to happen.

* * *

"if i had known we were going on a caper, i wouldn't have worn boots!" charlie cried, "they're so loud!"

"shh," ginny whispered, "will you just keep watch?"

she pulled out a screwdriver from her bra.

"have you been carrying that this whole time?"

"i hate carrying a purse, sue me."

"so what's the plan?"

"we let the air out of the tires on this van. no tires, no van, no coming out on the local news."

" _okay_ , maybe this is a little excessive. when i came out, i thought my dad would either kick me out or kill me. but instead, he let me record project runway even though it conflicted with his CSI reruns! now we watch it together, and it's adorable, ginny!"

suddenly, ginny's phone buzzed, signaling chris was calling.

"we'll be there soon, chris."

"well, if you can't find me, it's because i'm having sex with knox."

"at the school dance?"

"no, in his car, but technically dance-adjacent. the next time you see me i'll be a woman!"

ginny was speechless.

"you don't sound excited, gin."

"i am! i'm so excited! it's just- this is kind of a big deal... do you really want your first time to be in the backseat of a car?"

"it- it has leather interior. i gotta go, i'll call you later."

"chris-"

chris ended the call and ginny ran over to the van, slashing the tire without hesitation.

"you scare me, ginny danbury. i like it!"

from across the parking lot, they could hear a car door slamming shut. there had been another van that they didn't realize had been there, and watched as ginny's mother drove off to the school.

"fuck."

* * *

chris and knox were in the backseat of his car making out.

"i've been wanting to do this for so long," he whispered.

"me too," she grinned, "wait- how long?"

"what?"

"how long have you wanted to do this?"

"what- have sex with a lesbian? pretty much since birth."

she forced a laugh and pulled away.

"what's wrong, chris?"

"i don't know, i was into this, now i'm not. sorry to be a tease, but i should probably get back to my girlfriend."

she quickly left the car and re-entered the school.

meanwhile, ginny's mom had made it to the school and walked up to chet and his date.

"oh, chet, thank god i found you!" she exclaimed.

"what are you doing here?"

"i'm here to interview those lesbian homecoming queens, have you seen them?"

ginny and charlie ran in and stopped chet from saying anything, but by then her mother had noticed someone wearing a tiara and went after them. ginny was trailing not far behind.

when she realized it was chris, she was confused.

"chris?"

"mrs. danbury! what are you doing here?"

she turned to ginny.

"ginny, you knew about this?"

"mom, i wanted to tell you, but i was afraid you wouldn't approve."

"oh, that's ridiculous."

"really?"

"honey, her parents are so permissive, it's no big surprise. but i'm fine with it! she's not _my_ daughter! but i do think you should dial back the sleepovers."

ginny frowned and watched her mother step over to chris, preparing herself for the interview.

"now chris, where is this adorable girlfriend of yours?"

ginny turned around, grabbed the crown from chris, and placed it on her head.

"i'm right here, mother."

her mom looked away from the camera to ginny, losing her smile and staring in surprise. she couldn't start the interview and quickly walked into the crowd of people.

"are you okay?" chris asked.

"yea," ginny replied, "that felt really good, actually."

"do you wanna dance?"

ginny nodded, taking chris by the hand and leading her to the floor.

charlie had gotten knox to dance with him, only to hear him complain about not having sex with chris, but he left out the fact that it even _was_ chris to begin with.

chris and ginny were holding one another as they danced and talked.

"i'm so proud of you, gin."

"for what, fake coming out?"

"for standing up to your mom! she's always giving you those backhanded compliments, makes me want to punch her sometimes."

"and i'm proud of you for becoming a woman. did it hurt?"

"yea, no. that didn't happen."

"what? why not?"

"you were right. knox just sees me as this cool lesbian, and i want my first time to be special, with someone who loves me." she made eye contact with knox across the room. "which is _why_ i'm going to make him fall in love with me."

ginny pulled chris into a hug and let her head rest on her shoulder, trying everything she could to hide how knowing chris's intentions hurt her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the school protests for their privacy rights while ginny attempts to find a boy to secretly date to make chris happy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as with any other thing i’ve written, here’s a [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6rgDMPGMaY71D87vFOop7I?si=DGke5jDMTn-Xqw_75Y7bKw) for the fic <3

chris and ginny are sitting on the grass outside of the school, going over a song chris had been trying to write. since "coming out", they've had a relatively calm experience with everything. the excitement died down shortly after homecoming, though ginny's mother was still upset with her, and chris was still planning on making knox fall in love with her.

"chris, you _gotta_ sing for me!" ginny cried jokingly, "you always share your songs with me, come on!"

"it's not finished yet," chris laughed.

"since when do you share songs with me when they're ready?"

"this one's different, gin. it's personal, i'm bearing my soul, so... i want it to be perfect."

"oh! is it a power ballad?"

"no, but i promise-" chris sat up and moved her way over to ginny, "-you'll be the first person to hear it."

she was inches away from ginny, smiling, then leaned in and kissed her. she had pulled her phone out quickly and took a picture of them before backing away, still smiling.

"i'm posting this on instagram. everyone will _adore_ it."

ginny, still starstruck, gave a fake smile and a small nod.

"so tell me something, chris. how is posting a picture of us kissing helping you get knox?"

"that's easy, he's _severely_ allergic to commitment, so when he sees me- a lesbian with a girlfriend- he won't be able to stay away!"

"okay, well, you can't force someone to fall for you, chris. they'll fall for you because of who you are, not because of what they _think_ you are."

"i've been me my whole life and no one's fallen for me. except for you, of course."

ginny laughed and looked to the ground.

"very funny."

"hey, i'm just enjoying all of this. i mean, we're popular, i get to talk to knox overstreet, i can hold my best friend's hand in public... what could be better?"

"yea, it's pretty nice."

"you really think so? i thought you weren't getting anything from this. not much has really changed for you."

"chris, my parents are horribly uncomfortable around me. chet has his moments but he mostly keeps to himself now, i guess he knows he can't pick a losing fight. it's a gift that just keeps giving."

"mhm."

"maybe i should find a guy to fall in love with me, too. you seem to be having fun with it."

"what about that anderson kid? you used to have a crush on him in middle school."

"okay, i'll talk to him later."

"...what about right now?"

"what?"

"he's coming this way!" chris smiled, "hey todd, what's up?"

"can't talk," he exclaimed, "we're protesting!"

ginny looked around and saw dozens of students heading inside, presumably to whatever protest todd had mentioned. apparently, the school had just received a generous donation from a tech company, granting them more resources and money to fund their clubs and activities. (most) everyone saw this as a bad sign rather than good, as the company wanted to make everyone use their products and give them little to no privacy.

of course, one of the people on the forefront of the protest was knox overstreet, making chris get involved in the protest even though she usually never participated in such things.

as they entered the school hallways they stopped in front of knox.

"what's this all about?" ginny asked.

"this stupid company wants to take our privacy away," knox told her, "do you want to let that happen?"

"of course she doesn't!" chris beamed, "she would never stand for something so cruel, right, gin?"

"right."

the principal stepped out of her office and whistled for everyone to pay attention.

"okay, everyone," she started, "i love a good protest, but we _really_ need this money. the government cut back on our budget and we weren't left with enough to fund everything."

everyone groaned and chris took the opportunity to step up and intervene.

"we can't let this happen! they'll be able to see everything we do- our pictures, messages, emails, everything. do you _want_ them to control you?"

a chorus of " _no_ " came from the students.

"then make your voices heard! stand your ground!"

everyone cheered and started running around the school, putting up makeshift posters on the walls.

"chris, what are you doing?" ginny asked, slightly angry.

"knox is _really_ into this protest, and i'm using that to my advantage," she grinned, "are you going to help?"

"no thanks, protesting isn't really my thing."

"what about todd? he seems really into it, too."

" _fine_ , but after this don't count on me to encourage you."

chris gave ginny a small kiss on the cheek before chasing after knox. ginny smiled at her but immediately looked away as she left.

* * *

after an hour or so, most of the school was outside of the classrooms in favor of the protest. people had grabbed megaphones and airhorns to ensure they'd capture others' attention, and gladly helped anyone out that needed assistance.

meanwhile, chris was gathering supplies from the art room to impress knox. she had been so confident in her plan that she didn't consider anyone else would _also_ be interested in knox, getting interrupted by charlie and a girl chris had never seen before.

"look who i found!" charlie grinned.

"annie!" knox exclaimed, "you made it!"

"you know me," annie smiled, "always up for a good protest."

chris looked between the two and mentally cursed herself for thinking she was the only one attracted to knox, especially now.

"it's good to see you, annie."

"you too, knox."

knox turned to chris and motioned for annie to look over at her.

"this is chris. she's another protester helping us out today."

"nice to meet you, chris."

chris scrambled to find something to say that would lessen the tension between everyone, but could only think of one thing.

"i'm a lesbian," she blurted out, almost immediately regretting it by how charlie looked at her.

"good for you." annie turned back to knox with a huge grin on her face. "knox, do you mind if i steal you away? i have some ideas i want to share with you that'll really help the protest."

"uh, of course."

knox led annie outside and left chris and charlie on their own.

"the promance continues," charlie laughed.

" _promance_?"

"protest romance. every time there's a protest on campus those two get _so_ much sexual tension between them; it's like a volcano waiting to erupt."

" _oh_. oh, okay."

chris stormed off as charlie gave her a confused look. why was she so upset about knox and annie?

as chris was feeling embarrassed with herself, ginny was outside looking for todd. he was surrounded by other students, presumably his friends, looking enthused about the conversation they were having. she walked toward him and paused when he pulled out an instrument she couldn't name and started playing it. _whatever_ it was sounded unappealing to her and she nearly turned the other way, but was met with another guy next to her. he was apparently stockpiling on toilet paper, his hands full of rolls.

"pretty soon we'll all be wearing suits of armor," he joked.

"you know the bathroom typically supplies you with that, you don't have to carry your own," she replied.

"oh, trust me, in a few hours this stuff will be worth more than diamonds."

"so while your fellow students are protesting injustice you're making them pay for toilet paper?"

"you do what you have to around here."

they smiled at one another.

"i'm ginny."

"neil." he extended his hand to shake hers. "i thought you'd be more into this whole thing, being homecoming queen and all."

"oh, this is more my girlfriend's thing. she gets involved in this stuff and i sit back and silently hate them."

"speaking of your girlfriend... isn't that her chaining herself to that door over there?"

neil pointed behind ginny and she turned to see chris by one of the side doors, dramatically pretending to chain herself to it. she turned back to neil and sighed.

"will you excuse me?"

he nodded and watched ginny walk over to chris.

"chris, honey, what are you doing?"

"knox is having a promance with this annie girl, so i'm chaining myself to this door because i don't want the volcano to erupt," she replied, "more importantly, who was that cute boy you were talking to?"

"neil. we just met but so far i don't want to poke his eyes out with scissors."

"gin, that's huge!"

"i know! i don't want to jump to conclusions, but he might be secret boyfriend material."

suddenly, knox came up to them, annie trailing slowly behind.

"hey knox!" chris tried making her voice sound cheery but it just came out sounding nervous.

"hey," he was smiling, but not from seeing chris. "we brought some food from the local bakery for everyone."

"that's great!"

neil must've been staring the entire time and noticed how uncomfortable ginny became once knox showed up, so he came over and stood next to them.

"do you want to get out of here?" he mumbled to ginny.

"i thought you'd never ask," she replied. they quickly left the three of them on their own, not listening to whatever the conversation had turned into.

* * *

neil insisted on sneaking into the office where the security cameras were monitored, as a way to still be aware of the protesting but not actively be around it. ginny was just happy to be with someone that wasn't going on about knox overstreet for five minutes, and she wanted to see if neil would be a good distraction from chris.

"hey neil," ginny started, "you _do_ understand the irony of spying on students protesting to keep their privacy, right?"

"i do. i'm glad you do, too. but listen, i'll sit here and watch other students doing their thing, because i'm supposed to be one, but i just feel like i don't belong. is that weird? god, i'm weirding you out."

"no, you aren't weird! you're just... kind of nerdy. totally normal to be a nerd. i can relate."

he smiled at her, stepping away to find popcorn for them to snack on.

"y'know, this school prides itself on celebrating everyone's differences, but they're all so desperate to fit in."

she nodded.

"i can't wait for college."

"me too." he fiddled with the buttons on the microwave before putting the popcorn bag in before sitting down next to ginny. "i've gotta admit something to you, ginny. i noticed you before you came out."

"really?"

"yea. it's not often you find a girl around here that's so unaware of how pretty she is."

neil leaned over to kiss her but stopped himself before it happened.

"i'm sorry. i finally find a girl i like and- and she's a lesbian."

"yea, about that. chris is my best friend, but she's not-" her attention was turned to the camera footage of chris standing in front of a crowd of people, guitar in hand. "- _singing_?"

"probably we shall overcome."

ginny grabbed her things and rushed out of the room, heading for where chris was, not caring that she left neil on his own.

* * *

knox and annie had gathered most of the students together to put together an "open mic" for everyone to share their opinions. chris had only gone along with it because she didn't want to look like an idiot to knox, who was still giving his undivided attention to annie.

annie had stepped up and started to share a poem she found inspirational. chris was watching knox watching annie, trying to keep herself composed. as the poem was finished, everyone applauded and annie made her way over to knox and chris, never losing her fake smile.

chris immediately felt herself becoming uncomfortable with the tension between them and walked up to the makeshift stage, grabbing a guitar on the way. she whistled for everyone's attention and almost froze when they all stared at her.

"i've, uh, i've never done this before," she spoke, "so, um, be gentle."

she started to play the song she'd been working on, the one she was keeping from ginny- the one so personal to her she wanted to hide it from the world. but seeing knox made her comfortable enough to share it. she hadn't noticed ginny walk in and push her way to the front of the crowd.

_i felt a spark of desire, and now the flames are growing higher_

_i really want this to work, i'm so tired of being burned_

_i've got a secret inside_

_it gets so easy to be someone else_

_when i'm with you i don't have to hide_

_when i'm with you i can be myself_

chris realized ginny was in the crowd and smiled at her, but her attention turned back to knox, who was returning the smile. ginny realized she was looking at him and immediately became upset.

_something changed the moment we kissed_

_i never knew it could feel like this_

_but keep it hush, hush, undercover_

_but it's a rush, rush bein' your lover_

_and if it's not too much, could you have a crush on me?_

charlie was standing in between ginny and knox, and noticed how each of them were staring at chris. instantly he was confused, not understanding why ginny would be bothered by the song and why knox would be enjoying it.

_we keep it hush, hush and discover_

_that it's a rush when we're with each other_

_yea, i have a crush, and i just want you to see_

_that you were never a secret to me_

chris finished the song and everyone started cheering and clapping for her. ginny escaped from the crowd and made her way to her locker, hoping chris wouldn't come and find her and want to talk about what just happened. she was unfortunately wrong, and chris came walking up to her beaming.

"can you believe i just did that?" she exclaimed, "did i sound nervous? because i was about to pee my pants up there!"

"it's too bad you didn't," ginny spat, "i heard knox thinks that's a real turn-on."

"wait, why aren't you happy for me? i thought you'd be proud of me, you've always told me i should sing in public."

"yea, and you never have. but the second you want to impress a boy you're out there singing like it's your career."

"you really think i sound that good?"

"chris, i'm _so_ sick of the way you've been acting lately! doing these ridiculous things all for some boy you hardly know to fall in love with you! what do you even know about knox?"

"i... know he's into protesting and he- he has integrity!"

"maybe he can lend you some."

"so _what_ if i like knox, i'm a fucking girl, gin."

chris stormed off just before neil appeared behind ginny.

"hey, we didn't get to have any popcorn before you left," he said, clearly anxious. before he could say anything else ginny pulled him closer and kissed him as passionately as she could, making him drop the bag of popcorn.

"i'm sorry," ginny said, "i shouldn't have done that."

she hurriedly walked away from him and headed home.

* * *

meanwhile, chris had accidentally stumbled upon knox and annie briefly kissing in the parking lot. she could vaguely hear what they were talking about, but it wasn't making it any easier on her.

"do you wanna get out of here?" annie asked.

"i can't," knox replied.

"fine."

annie walked away and headed for her own car, as a car drove up to knox. chris recognized the girl that stepped out as the manager the tech company had sent to announce their donation earlier in the day.

"get in," she told knox, who silently did as he was told and stepped in the backseat of her car.

* * *

ginny was pulling her hair into a ponytail when she heard incessant knocking at her bedroom door. thinking it was chris, she hesitantly opened it, only to see charlie dalton. he let himself in and sat down on the bed, not waiting for her to say anything.

"okay, there's no easy way to say this, so i'm just going to rip the band-aid right off," he sounded worried, something that was out of character for him. "there's something going on between chris and knox."

"what?" ginny pretended to be shocked, " _no_ , chris and knox would never- yea, you're right."

"so wait, you _knew_ she was into guys?"

"i... had a clue."

ginny joined charlie and sat next to him.

"the elusive bisexual. i've been down this road before; dating someone bi is a lesson in insecurity."

"i wish she was bi."

"trust me, i saw the way she and knox were looking at each other. i felt like i needed to go in the science lab and use eye wash."

ginny turned to face charlie, sighing as she realized she had to tell him the truth.

"if i tell you something super secret, you promise you won't tell anyone?"

"gay scouts honor."

"chris and i are faking it."

"what, like orgasms? i know someone that can help with that-"

"no, charlie. we're faking being lesbians. well, chris is, _i'm_ not so sure."

"you have my attention, gin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so those song lyrics...... much to think about


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chris spends the day avoiding knox while ginny tries to find a real girlfriend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if there are any issues in this chapter i apologize, the app i use to write has been having some issues the past few days and sometimes random sentences or paragraphs will just poof out of existence and not save :/

chris had been trying to get ahold of ginny with no luck, while avoiding knox at all costs.

"it's been over twelve hours of silence, _please_ talk to me," she begged through the voicemail, "it's over between knox and i... you were right about him. i'm sorry, i don't know what i was thinking. i miss you, ginny."

knox walked up to her and smiled.

"hey, did you get my text? i wanted to tell you how great that song was," he said.

"well you've told me. you could die happy."

she stormed off and headed for class.

meanwhile, ginny was hanging out with neil, who had completely misinterpreted what happened the day prior. she noticed another voicemail pop up on her phone and ignored it as neil was fiddling with a papier-mâché crane he made for her.

"trouble in paradise?" he asked.

"things are...complicated," she replied.

"well, maybe this crane will help you lift your spirits."

he handed her the crane and she smiled at him awkwardly, looking anywhere but neil as she tried to find charlie.

"thank you, neil. i-i gotta go, i'll see you later."

she hurried after charlie and pushed his phone from his face to get his attention.

"hey! what are you doing right now?"

"...going to school like a normal person," he laughed, "did you do drugs this morning? what's up?"

"i need you to help me find a girlfriend. i think."

"ginny, you already _have_ a girlfriend. these people will never let you hear the end of it if they find out you're faking it."

"well, i'm _not_ faking it, and that's the problem! if i'm having these feelings for chris then i have to be a lesbian!"

"i think it's too soon to bust out the label maker."

"charlie, _you're_ the one who outed me to the whole school, remember?"

"yes, but now i realize you're more complicated and interesting!"

"yesterday i kissed neil and i didn't feel anything. why didn't i feel anything? he makes really cool cranes!"

she pulled the crane neil had just given her out of her pocket and moved its wings.

"shocking you didn't jump him right then and there."

"look, if i find a real girlfriend, then my fake girlfriend can go back to being my best friend."

"that's what this is about?"

"these feelings are killing me. yesterday i blew up on chris because i was jealous of knox. who does that? trashy women on reality tv, that's who."

charlie smiled at her.

"i'm going to help you both because i can see you're in pain and because i can't wait to see how this plays out."

* * *

charlie and ginny decided to skip school and (try to) find ginny a girlfriend. charlie took them to a café in town that he knew was frequented by openly gay people.

"welcome to _the twain_ – lesbian café by day, gay bar by night," charlie beamed.

"wow, i've never seen so many lesbians in the wild," ginny spoke, not trying to hide her amazement.

"you asked and i delivered, ginny. now, first thing's first- what's your type?"

"i have to pick one? i don't know, i- i like that girl's belt." she pointed to a girl across the room, and charlie could only sigh in response. "charlie, i didn't have feelings for chris until we kissed."

"so?"

"so i guess i've gotta start kissing some lesbians."

"or you could just-" she hurried off before charlie could stop her. "shoot me a look if you need me!"

before she could introduce herself to anyone, her phone buzzed.

**chris:** _please call. i need you_

**ginny:** _super busy._

she put her phone back in her pocket and looked up to make eye contact with a girl across the room. having no experience with it, she winked at the girl and licked her lips, which gained a disgusted face in response as the girl walked away. she tried again with another girl, who was studying anatomy.

"that could come in handy one day," ginny started.

"yea, i hope so," the girl replied, "i want to be a doctor someday."

"why bother when we can play doctor right now?"

"you're joking... right?"

ginny sighed and walked away, accidentally running into someone and making them drop their cup of coffee.

"oh my god, i'm so sorry," ginny apologized, looking up to find a girl staring back at her. it felt like a cliche, bumping into someone and meeting their gaze, ending up happily married with kids in a few years.

"no, it's okay," she replied, "i wasn't watching where i was walking."

"do you wanna get out of here?"

"yea." the stranger grinned at her.

"really?"

"yea, let's go to my car."

she reached out to grab ginny's hand, but was pushed away. ginny tried to look at charlie and tell him she needed help, but he was busy flirting with the barista behind the counter.

"i-i have a girlfriend, sorry."

she quickly walked away and stood next to charlie.

"charlie, i shot you a look! you were supposed to be looking!"

"i had to look away! it was too hard to watch!"

"was i that bad?"

"you were aggressive and overly-sexual. that usually works for gay guys, but lesbians don't want that. they want to bond and fall in love."

"sounds amazing, how can i make it happen?"

"we resort to online dating!"

ginny frowned as they walked out of the café and headed for her house, still neglecting to attend class. they spent half an hour creating an online dating profile for ginny, with most of the thirty minutes going to charlie trying to get her to change her description.

"about me... the best way to get to know who i am is to understand the things i _hate_?"

"what? it's true!"

"...someone who wears sunglasses, or someone who pays for jeans with holes in them?! this profile makes you sound just a tad too negative."

"i'm already faking one relationship, if i'm gonna have a real one i want her to like me for _me_."

"honey, that's not how online dating works. if you find anyone based on this it'll be a miracle."

her phone buzzed with a notification indicating someone from the app had messaged her.

"a miracle?"

"i bet she's desperate, people don't message that fast unless they really need it."

ginny showed charlie the girl's profile and smiled.

"oh my god, super cute!"

* * *

knox walked up to chris while she was putting her things away in her locker.

"look, i don't know what you're up to, but i don't have time for it," she muttered.

"what's your problem?" he asked, "i tried telling you i liked your song and you acted like you hated me."

"you _know_ what you did, knox."

"no, i don't!"

"you slept with that tech company girl!"

"i did _not_!"

"then why'd you leave with her yesterday?"

"she's my sister, chris."

he stormed off and left her on her own.

* * *

charlie was helping ginny find an outfit for her date with jasmine, the girl that had messaged her before. she put on multiple outfits before settling on a flannel and jeans, not wanting to appear too needy or dramatic.

once again, chris was calling her, and she handed her phone over to charlie in an attempt to ignore it.

"i haven't spoken to chris since yesterday and i can barely resist it anymore. please, just take it."

"don't worry about her, think about your cute date. i keep wanting to make a magic carpet joke, but i'll hold off on you."

"thank you, charlie. i really appreciate this, you know."

"i know. now go out there and get yourself a girlfriend!"

ginny smiled before realizing charlie wasn't following her out.

"you're not coming with me?"

"i'll wait here for you. you've got this."

"okay. here goes..."

she headed for the café they'd previously been at, only now they decided to sit outside. when she met jasmine she was immediately attracted to her, but didn't let herself get too distracted by her appearance to forget what she was doing.

they started off talking about little things like interests and moved onto discussing lgbt-related topics.

"since i've come out there hasn't been a day where someone hasn't made a comment about it to me," jasmine sighed, "it's definitely _not_ like your school."

"i don't think there's any other school quite like ours..." ginny mumbled.

"i heard about the whole homecoming queens thing. sounds like a gay hogwarts."

"yea, it's really open and accepting. guess i'm sorry i hate it so much."

"no, don't be. it's high school."

"yea, you're right. high school's a drag."

"so... i got a vespa last week, and my parents freaked-"

ginny couldn't stop herself from leaning over the table and kissing jasmine unprompted. she figured she'd know if her feeling were genuine if she kissed another girl, but was met with confusion instead.

"what the hell?"

"oh god, i'm so sorry. i... have to go."

ginny ran off and sat outside of the entrance of the café, jasmine slowly trailing after her.

"can we just pretend that never happened?" ginny asked, "that coffee shop brings out the worst in me."

"as much as i'd like to believe you kissed me because you find me irresistible," jasmine replied, "i'm sensing there's something else is going on."

"...i kissed my best friend and now nothing makes sense."

"been there."

"seriously?"

"oh yea. being with her was torture, _not_ being with her was torture. i wanted to tell her, but i knew i'd risk everything if i did."

"yea, exactly! what did you do?"

“i told her.”

"and?"

"and... i'm on a date with you."

"oh, right."

"maybe your situation will be different, but if not- call me. maybe i can help pick up the pieces."

ginny nodded and smiled as she watched jasmine walk away.

* * *

chris followed knox into the art room, where he was trying to work on his latest piece.

"about earlier," she began, "i came to apologize."

he ignored her until she stood in front of him and place her hand on his.

"knox, i'm sorry, okay? when i saw you leaving yesterday i just jumped to conclusions."

"apology accepted. now can you please go?"

"if she's your sister, why were you protesting against her company?"

"my family is complicated, you wouldn't understand."

"maybe not, but i'd like to try."

"my sister is being led to take over the company when my dad retires."

"your dad is the head of the company?"

"he founded it. charlie is the only other person that knows, so _please_ don't tell anyone."

"i won't."

she softly smiled at knox.

"money has made my family secretive, image-obsessed assholes. i want nothing to do with it, or them!"

"that sucks."

"it's even more fucked up than you can imagine, chris."

"what do you mean?"

"i don't want to get into it."

she came closer to him.

"okay. well, if you want to talk, i'm here."

"thanks."

"and if it makes you feel any better, my parents are image-obsessed too. i mean, not about money, they're just into being alternative. i feel like they never understood me until came out, and they got _so_ excited about it, but they think my sexual orientation is the most interesting thing about me. god, i don't know why i'm telling you all of this."

chris stepped away and started to head for the door but stopped before she could leave.

"it isn't the most interesting thing about you, chris."

knox walked up to her and smiled, pulling her in for a kiss. she began to pull his shirt up but he stopped her hands from going any farther.

"hey, it's okay. i'm ready, knox."

"i'm sorry, i can't."

he quickly left without saying another word, leaving chris in a state of shock.

* * *

charlie was paging through ginny's old diary when she came back from her date.

"finally!" he exclaimed, "was it love at first sight?"

" _she_ was really cool," ginny replied, " _i_ was a hot mess."

"okay, moving on. internet dating is a numbers game."

"i don't want to meet another girl."

"a boy?"

"i don't want to meet another boy."

" _that_ limits your options. if you want to meet someone who's trans you're looking at the wrong people."

"nothing's going to make my feelings for chris go away."

charlie sighed.

"then at least we know what you are."

"we do?"

"you're a chris-sexual."

ginny groaned and joined charlie on the bed.

"why don't you just tell her how you feel?"

"she's been my best friend since kindergarten. if i tell her how i feel, it’ll get awkward and we'll just drift apart until one day we'll meet in line at the grocery store and say polite hellos and... pretend like we didn't once know everything there is to know about each other."

"...or you tell her how you feel and she feels the same way, and you two live happily ever after!"

"yea, right."

"i've seen you two together. she's always kissing you and holding your hands, it's pretty clear she loves you."

"as a friend."

"ginny, she's been texting you all day. she's clearly got her own version of panic going on."

"it's not the same."

"how do you know? maybe, _just_ maybe she feels the same way about you, but is also too scared to say anything. after all, it takes two people to make a good kiss."

"what about her chasing after knox?"

"classic overcompensation! happens all the time."

ginny's phone buzzed once more.

"gin, you'll never figure this out by hiding from her." he smiled. "if you'll excuse me, i have a cute date with that barista."

she answered the phone with a smile.

"chris? hey!"


End file.
